ANECA calls on universities to participate in the creation of a Self-assessment Framework to promote an active, critical and responsible citizenship

The National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) has published an open call for universities to participate in the Project to create a Framework for the self-assessment of Spanish universities in improving their actions aimed at promoting an active, critical and responsible citizenship. This project aims to become a valuable contribution to guide the design, implementation and review of the mechanisms that contribute to ensuring progress in the aforementioned actions.

The call, which will be open until October 11 of this year, is added to the previous efforts made by the Observatory of the quality of the Spanish university system of ANECA, aimed at creating similar tools to address two fundamental issues for the university field: 'employability' and 'inclusion'; whose self-assessment frameworks were published by ANECA in 2021 and 2023, respectively, and in whose preparation more than 60 universities participated.

The call published by ANECA on September 19 confirms the Agency's commitment to support the objective of promoting from the university level, in the terms expressed by the European Higher Education Area, the Framework of Competences for a Democratic Culture of the Council of Europe and the Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development of UNESCO, so that our society has an active, critical and responsible citizenship.

 

Furthermore, this project is developed in line with the European Strategy for Universities of the European Union, which highlights the importance of paying attention to fundamental rights and democratic values ​​and practices through the promotion of active citizenship and establishes that “universities play a key role in the development of students as critical and creative thinkers, problem solvers and active and responsible citizens”.

The expected final result will be to provide universities, on the one hand, with a series of elements for reflection to improve their performance and, on the other, a tool that is useful for the self-review of their own processes, their integration and their capacity to be sensitive to the needs of the different stakeholders and society, with the aforementioned purpose of contributing to promoting active, critical and responsible citizenship.